Disclaimer: All sonic characters belong to Sega. I own all OCs/FCs

Still Alive

"Nothing scares me anymore."

The white walls of the hospital room stained the area like jelly in on a pallid shirt. The color shined brightly yet dulling the senses of the inhabitants contained within its boundary. Monitors continued to call their resistant beats telling whether or not someone was alive or ceased to breathe.

It was so suffocating in here. How could anyone keep calm in such an environment? When there was always a flat line every twenty minutes, how could anyone keep quiet? Why was he so jittery? Had it been her? Of course it was her. That flat line could've belonged to the girl who lay, soundlessly on the bed.

Maybe.

Lime eyes stayed studying the hedgehog-girl. A gloved hand, cold from the frigid air, laid on top of that warm forehead of hers, thumb massaging tiny circles into it. Mephiles' expression stayed calm, stoic even. A light scowl plastered his features yet not one soul could tell what exploded inside the man's chest. His pale muzzle did not twitch nor move. All he just did was stare.

He just stared and stared and stared.

And stared.

He eventually had to blink.

She was really pale. Almost as pale as him. Her muzzle lacked the flush that displayed colors of red and pink. The quills that lay upon her tiny head were messy, unkempt and distraught. Instead of her midnight fur, fur that could've been darker than the black pool of night, it was gray. Just a plain simple gray that burned his eyes. Her chapped, cracked, lips served no purpose in aiding her health. They just reminded him that those pills were about to enter through them. Welcoming the hedgehog to her uncertain death.

Oh, he was furious. So furious. Mephiles was angry at everything and everyone. He was angry at Elena, he was angry at Shadow, his co-workers, her school mates, himself… He wanted to put an end to everything. Never before had this amount of rage burned in his chest, melting a hole through the very organ. The faded blue stripes that ran across his body looked messy, as messy as her quills. His fur was not matted, but he felt itchy in his own pelt. This skin that covered his body felt foreign.

"Summertime Sadness."

He looked over to see her lips turn up into a lazy smile. Mephiles blinked dragging his hand down to her cheek. He nodded numbly. Yes, the first thing she said since the incident was the name of the song playing next to her head. The iPhone played quietly on the particular song.

"I just wanted you to know, that baby you the best," she recited lowly, her voice raspy.

Elena started to sway her head slowly to the sound of Lana Del Rey's voice. She felt the hand drag along to her shoulder and finally to her hand where a firm squeeze was given. Having no strength and feeling quite groggy, she did not return the squeeze, instead slowly opening her dull carrot colored eyes. The lazy irises traveled up his body and landed on his eyes.

Those cold, stone based, eyes.

"Do you hate me?" she questioned. There was no reason for the question, but it was the first thing she wanted to direct to him.

Mephiles bent down softly placing a kiss on her forehead. He then bowed his head leaving his muzzle in the clef of her neck. His lips pressed against her collar bone, leaving small pecks there. Slowly, he breathed in her scent again, wanting to make sure she was there, alive, breathing and talking. The midnight hedgehog again squeezed her hand. The one left unhanded, owned by the girl, gently clasped around his head, tangling its fingers into his quills.

"I love you," he mumbled tiredly.

She closed her eyes, exhausted already.

"I like this version better than the remix."

(0…)

Nothing would compute. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There was a flood that wrecked his heart and she caused it. With her stupid actions and idiotic thoughts, he was more of an empty shell. How selfish could she be, wanting to go join mother without their consent? Without his consent? Of course, he expected nothing less from such a dim-witted girl, acting on impulse and never taking time to understand her surroundings.

Shadow would not talk to Mephiles. He refused to. The look in his older sibling's eyes just ticked him the hell off. He was so broken. Repair was fruitless. His olive orbs lacked any kind of sane feeling. Wasn't he supposed to be the one that held them together? Why was he so wrecked? Yeah, she tried to kill herself, he cried, she cried, they all cried.

Get over it.

Mother gave him the job to be the parent; he needed to act like one. Shadow scoffed. He could do a better job anytime, any day.

…

Stop lying to yourself. You've snapped. You've lost it. You want to cry. You want to scream. You want to tear and destroy everything in your path. Why don't you? Are you trying to be the grown-up? Well, stop. You have one more year to be a child.

Act like one.

"Fuck," he cursed. His hand ran through his quills, disheveled. The whites surrounding his eyes were red and each time he blinked, it hurt. It burned like scorching fire.

Believe me, Shadow wanted nothing other than to follow the voice inside his head. But the only thing keeping him from doing that was his mother. If she were here, he would never hear the end of it.

"Shadow the Hedgehog, you know better than this. You are grounded when we get home…Do you need a hug, baby?"

Every time he would get angry, and do something rash, that was her way of calming him down because, in the end, he was always looking forward to that hug. He always did. It was a calm light in the void of darkness that never ceased to halt from bothering him. But unfortunately, there were no hugs as his light had died out, leaving him to blend in with the black.

The crimson striped hedgehog sighed, his ears drooping slightly. His back, which was firm against the door, slid against it. Quietly, his bottom touched the tiled floor. Shadow held his head in his hand, pinching the skin between his eyes. How did everything turn so wrong? What had they done to be plunged into an eternal void of despair and misery? Ever since their mother died it was as if their lives went through the hole. From their father abusing them, to Elena's suicide attempt, Shadow was forced to belief they must've been cursed.

But when their father was found dead in an alleyway, slaughtered like an animal, despite himself, he personally felt maybe their lives may get better, which it appeared to have. But while the three hedgehogs had their moments, seeming to get along, and coming together to attempt to act like normal siblings, he had noticed something. They would get hurt so easily. So very easily. Yes, being emotionally, mentally and physically abused for four years did have that affect on someone, but didn't that require fixing? Admittedly he would say if someone were to make him upset, he would drive overboard. If someone even mentioned their mother in front of Mephiles, he would act as if he belonged in an insane asylum. Shadow didn't even have to think about how fragile Elena's emotional border was anymore.

An exhausted sigh escaped his lips. "Damn Elena," he muttered to himself, "Look what you've done to us."

Suddenly, the door behind him swung open. Shadow steadied himself before falling back. Irritably he glared behind him to find his older brother looking down on him. His glare softened as he observed how tired Mephiles was. His eyes were dull, more lifeless than before. The discolored bags under his eyes only made his appearance worse. Mephiles' quills were disheveled, strands poking out in odd direction. Somehow though, he was still able to keep a hint of his mature charm. But for a handsome hedgehog, he looked horrible.

Closing the door behind him, Mephiles silently sat next to his brother, bringing his knees to his chest. He sighed keeping his eyes forwards. "How are you doing?" he asked despairingly.

"You look like shit," Shadow stated bluntly.

Oddly, Mephiles smiled at that, even chuckling a bit. He glanced over to his younger sibling, eyes half-lidded. "I know," he said. He raised a brow. "You haven't answered my question."

Shadow frowned, staring forward. "I shouldn't need to."

Mephiles sighed. This small talk was only irking the ruby-eyed hedgehog. He needed to get straight to business. Unfortunately, it was always like that between the brothers.

"Elena wanted to see you, but she fell asleep. She wants you to be the first thing she sees when she wakes up."

Shadow scoffed. He was still a bit upset-no furious-with her for pulling such a stunt. He looked away, clenching his fist, gritting his teeth. "Yeah, well you tell her I didn't want her dead body being the-"

"Shadow," Mephiles warned.

"What?" he hissed rudely.

"Watch yourself. She's very fragile right now, and your insolence is the last thing she needs," the pale blue striped male growled.

For a moment Shadow considered fleeing the scene so he wouldn't have to deal with the lectures, but instead, he kept quiet. Again, his ears drooped in frustration. Seeing this, the older male put a hand on his shoulder only to have it be shrugged off harshly. Mephiles bit his lip.

He hadn't meant to sound so callous himself, he was just going through so much.

"Shadow, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You didn't," the other responded too quickly. "I-I'm fine." He suddenly got up, brushing off invisible dust off his shoulder. Mephiles followed suit, standing behind him. Shadow was about to walk off only to have his arm gripped. He growled, vibrating his entire body. All this irritation and frustration was so annoying. He felt at his breaking point as he tried to take back his arm, but Mephiles would not let go.

"I'm sorry," Mephiles apologized.

"I said I was fine. Leave me be," Shadow responded more sternly.

"Shad-"

He had enough. The midnight clad spun around, glaring daggers at the other. His fur stood up in defense as fangs grew over his bottom lip. "I told you to leave me alone!" he roared.

Mephiles widened his eyes at the sight before him. As Shadow's body trembled, tears slowly dripped down his cheeks. His body grew feeble, trembling with anger as his cheeks grew red. Shadow shakily hugged himself, averting his eyes to the floor. Ashamed at the tears he shed, he closed his eyes. He couldn't bear to look at Mephiles. Not like this.

At twenty one years old, Mephiles the Hedgehog hadn't seen Shadow cry since that particular night, and that was months ago. And his sorrowful tears were because of Elena. That was something he hadn't seen in awhile either. But that very thought brought a smile to his lips. Slowly, he encircled his arms around the weak body, bringing Shadow's head to his furry chest. In reaction, Shadow tried to back away but it was hopeless. He soon gave in, burying his head in his brother's chest despite the embarrassment. Mephiles smiled.

"Shh," he cooed, "We are all still alive."